do you really really really need double?

johans · #1 08-21-2007, 01:48 PM

tb'ers

just have a bugging question in me ..

do you really 'really' need double of something in your pedal chains .. under these 2 scenarios:

1. say you really like this pedal, for example a DS-1 .. do you really need to have 2 of those in your overall chain? does it really make much difference?

2. say you are kind of rocking overdrive / distortion bassist .. you have a bunch of overdrive, distortion pedals of different brands ... do you keep them, or are you more of a pedal for each sound-kind-of guy? meaning -- let say i have distortion pedals from Boss, EHX, Digitech etc .. do you see the need to have all of them, or maybe pick 1-2 best pedals you can find ..

this isn't for any particular pedal reviews or something, just curious about how the other bassist's line-up ..

thanks!

OriginalCrash · #2 08-21-2007, 01:54 PM

Personally, I wouldn't see the need for more than one of the same overdrive/distortion pedal (unless you just really love it and want a backup), but someone else might. The more effected someone's sound is, the more likely they'd find such a need, probably. I could see having two of the same eq pedal, if there were one you really liked... That way you could run one pre- and one post-gain. As for how many gain pedals, well, that just depends on you. I'm one of those people who would hesitate to mix and match various heads and cabs, but there's no reason to only have Boss pedals or only have MXR, etc. If one or two pedals will get the job done (as I'm hoping my newly received Bass-Drive will do), great. If you need to buy that one pedal just to get that one sound and you have to do that for pedal after pedal, well... Who better to write reviews for all those different pedals you'll have?

Brian

Jimmyplaysabass · #3 08-21-2007, 01:56 PM

well you might need 2 if you have about 10 pedals running at the same time and want one type of those pedals to be more pominent in the mix?

funkybassplayer · #4 08-21-2007, 01:59 PM

for a period of time i used a superfluous number of pedals and ran a Dunlop high gain vol pedal at each end of it (actually they were both on the end to the right but signal path-wise they were at oppostie ends). I used a number of chorus/delay/filter pedals and using the volumes would either allow me to completly stop sound from getting to the amp or i could stop the sound from entering the signal flow, allowing the sound to continue to trickle through the noise boxes i was using. that might not have made too much sense but givit a try

Baird6869 · #5 08-21-2007, 01:59 PM

I would love to have a 2nd SansAmp RBI just for switching between Rock and R&B tunes without fiddling with knobs between sets, but I am too cheap to drop the $200+ for a used one.

That is really the only "effect" I could see needing 2 of personally.

johans · #6 08-21-2007, 01:59 PM

made sense

assboglin · #7 08-21-2007, 02:38 PM

Some people will use a different pedal for every different sound. I like to try to keep things simple, but I haven't been able to find any one distortion pedal that will adequately do everything I want. I'm still searching, but the closest thing I've probably found is the Dunlop Bass D.I., which still doesn't quite have the right vibe. I'll also sometimes hook up more than one wah for different wah sounds, but only when I want wah for like a solo. The 105Q handles all of the grooving wah duties.

syciprider · #8 08-21-2007, 02:50 PM

I used to have three delay pedals. Presets you now?

EricF · #9 08-21-2007, 04:58 PM

It all depends on your needs for the music you're playing. If you need 2 different drive levels of a specific pedal's sound, then running 2 of the same pedal would do the job.

I usually run 2 dirt pedals (one for heavy, gritty OD, and one for fuzz), but they're different pedals. It's what works for my music.

JanusZarate · #10 08-21-2007, 05:10 PM

I tend to pick out pedals for specific purposes, and I rarely need them to produce more than one sound.

My MXR Blowtorch was picked out specifically for two different sorts of fuzz tones, but I usually only use one of them, so I haven't had to worry about constantly tweaking the knobs. For overdrive, I let the amp handle it, and if I need to tweak the sound for any reason, I adjust my Stingray's onboard EQ.

I use my EHX Clone Theory for two different sounds, and coincidentally, I only need to change the mode knob to get the other one

My EHX #1 Echo gets used for two tones - a more traditional mild delay, and extreme feedback. But for the feedback, I play with the delay knob to get the desired noise

For my compressor, it's set-and-forget. No multiple-sound scenarios there!

Now, the only pedal I wish I had two of (or ideally, I wish it was programmable) is my EHX Bass Micro Synthesizer. But I'm not worried about it; it's not really applicable to my current band situation, and if it is, it'll likely only be one particular sound out of the BMS that I'll need.

As a bassist, most of my time is spent playing clean or overdriven; most of the work is done by my amp. The effects are used with specific purposes in mind, so I don't see myself needing to get two fuzz pedals, two overdrive pedals, etc. at this point. I really don't want to carry all that anyway

Sir Edward V · #11 08-21-2007, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by syciprider

I used to have three delay pedals. Presets you now?

or even better, you use them at the same time for super trippy delaysh

syciprider · #12 08-21-2007, 07:35 PM

Then I would just be making noise

Still gotta lay time.

That's the challenge of using delay with bass.

the_fonz · #13 08-21-2007, 10:02 PM

man, if it were up to me, i'd have 4 more Zoom B2s
i swear, i got lucky buying that as my first effect
it's my holy grail of tone, and more is always better

vtwo · #14 08-21-2007, 10:09 PM

One of my favorite bassists uses 3 DS-1's. I've seen multiple delays, distortions, and such from bassists and guitarists alike. Another brand to buy multiples of - Ibanez 7 series.

My opinion: why not? It makes things easier by not having to change settings and it makes your pedalboard huge. Huge board =... huge ... presence!

superbassman2000 · #15 08-21-2007, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricF

It all depends on your needs for the music you're playing. If you need 2 different drive levels of a specific pedal's sound, then running 2 of the same pedal would do the job.

I usually run 2 dirt pedals (one for heavy, gritty OD, and one for fuzz), but they're different pedals. It's what works for my music.

this is what my guitar players do--they have two tube screamers, one for giving the sound a little grit, and then they kick the second one in distortion.

Also I can see another way could be for pedal order--say you like the overdrive->wah sound as well as the wah->overdrive sound, so maybe you go drive->wah->drive so you can get that flexibility